What You Need to Know About Occupational Therapy

Many people have heard of occupational therapy, or OT, but do not understand what it is all about. The American Occupational Therapy Association defines occupational therapy as “The therapeutic use of work, self-care, and play activities to increase development and prevent disability. It may include adaptation of a task or environment to achieve maximum independence and to enhance the quality of life.”

Simply put, occupational therapists help people perform meaningful activities while improving their strength and mobility. This can include many of the following activities:

Benefits of Occupational Therapy

Anybody with a physical, mental or behavioral limitation can benefit from occupational therapy. Once again, the goal of OT is to return to normal functional activity. Occupational therapy practitioners help individuals with illnesses, injuries, certain conditions or disabilities. Occupational therapy will improve:

Independently Caring for Yourself

Activities of Daily Living

Coordination

Fine Motor Skills

Emma Klein, Occupational Therapist, adds “As therapists, it is important for us to figure out what is limiting a person’s ability to perform these functional tasks and find a way for them to complete them successfully and independently.”

Physical therapy does exercises to improve strength, range of motion of particular muscle and body movements such as walking, whereas occupational therapy does similar exercises and activities to improve functional tasks as self-care, hobbies, and returning to work. This may include building strength, coordination, thinking skills, or researching adaptive alternatives to assist in performing the activity.

DISCOVER

Our mission at Care First Rehab is to provide the highest quality of rehabilitation services to our patients. Combining traditional care with innovative technology provides “Care First” for each and every client. Offering the convenient choice of having your therapy on-site at our Cary clinic or in the comfort of your own home.

Care First Rehab is dedicated to treating all our patients with kindness, compassion and exceptional care. Together, as a team, we work to provide therapy services that improve the quality of life for each and every patient. Our intent is “Care First” for each and every client, at any age.